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Wednesday, November 27, 2013

November in Arizona

For Technorati: 89NUNCUDGP2W

Let’s see…we’ve been up to quite a bit here for the remainder of November. Thanksgiving is going to be a separate post though…for the record. For starters, I got rid of my microwave! Best. Decision. Ever. I’ve been wanting to do it for a while now, but I was sad that I might not be able to make popcorn ever again. Silly, I know. Microwaves aren’t good for you…not to mention they make food taste TERRIBLE cuz they suck all the moisture out of it. Anywho, once I pulled it out, I found a BUNCH of unused space! I felt like I won the lottery!

I have since been able to take regular microwave popcorn and cook it on my stovetop. It’s a tad bit chewier than usual though, so after that’s all eaten up, I’m going to start buying the good old fashioned popcorn that you cook in a pan on the stove.

Before anyone asks, I do not cook food that requires a microwave. I do not buy frozen dinners or frozen food of any kind…nor do I buy canned food. It’s cheaper and healthier to cook from “scratch” or whole-based foods anyways. Because of this, I do not miss it. The only time I “need” it, is when I need to reheat leftovers. That happens usually a couple times a week, so I just reheat the leftovers in pots on the stove or pans in the oven. It really isn’t inconvenient, and with all the additional space I now have, it’s worth the “sacrifice”.

We had an entire day of rain and it was pretty cool! It wasn’t exactly the Virginia downpour that I’m used to, but the air smelled like rain and everything was soaked. It was good enough for me.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we decided to venture out and find a park to take the girls to. I was hoping for a state park. I enjoy the type where we can hike around and go exploring…I’m used to them being free though. Once we learned that there was a fee charged to drive on to land that was pretty much just desert, we turned around. We eventually found the girls a regular park where they could swing, slide and play with other kids.

After a fun day at the park, lunch and a nap, we took the girls to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. They were so excited! (We never take them out for ice cream…that was always the Grandparents’ thing.)

Here’s a good…and random…pic to showcase how fat Tigger is! My Husband is not a small man, but Tigger is not a small cat either lol! Onyx on the other hand, seems a lot smaller, but he’s really only 3 pounds less. Onyx is 12 pounds. They love RVing. They get so much more attention now that we live in such tight quarters. They’re always nearby and thusly always getting pet…or squished in Onyx’ case. ;)

Homeschooling (not Roadschooling right now since we’re stationary) has been exceptional. MHG is learning a lot, and catching up from us not getting the curriculum until mid-October. Here she is showing off one of the geography games we made in homeschooling. It’s to help her learn the 50 states. It was fun and she beat me by 2 states (and I played my hardest too, so it was definitely a fair win)!

To play the game, you start in Kansas and flick the spinner. Whatever number and direction it says, is the number of states you color on the way in that direction. Once that direction is completely colored, you lose turns until you spin the direction you are able to go. She learned quite a few states playing this, and I have to admit that a majority of them she already knew because of all our road tripping! Chalk one up for being vagabonds, haha!

The sunsets here have been utterly breathtaking… I nearly wrecked my truck trying to photograph the one we had on the night before Thanksgiving. This isn’t that one, by the way. Those will be the very last pictures I will put at the end of this blog post.

We’re outside a lot of the time. Cindy likes when Ahdoo pushes her in her car. (I don’t make sound effects, so I’m no fun.) She can only do that for so long though before she has to get out and push her babies around in it. She likes to run as fast as she can while doing so. She’s always trying to keep up with MHG while she’s riding her bike. Those are the White Tank mountains behind us.

They followed us South. ;)

This was the sunset I nearly wrecked over trying to photograph. I was leaving Safeway after grabbing a few last minute things for Thanksgiving tomorrow. As I was driving through the parking lot, I was trying to take pictures of it. I realized quickly that I wasn’t that skilled, so I pulled over and clicked away. It was such a delicious sight!

This was the last (roughly) 2 weeks of November. We pretty much just spent it settling in and getting back to our usual routines. One thing that being on the road has taught us, is to adjust QUICKLY. We get into our daily routines while stationary somewhere, then we quickly have to readjust to life on the road, which is quite different. Once we get somewhere though, it’s back to the daily grind. Someone who doesn’t do well with change would probably have a heart attack over living life this way. It has kinda become the new norm for us though. However, we are still getting used to it at times and every trip we take (though it’s always quite the adventure) is getting easier and more familiar for us. I think with time, we could really be exceptional Road Warriors.

November isn’t quite over just yet though…next up: Thanksgiving. We definitely have a LOT to be thankful for this year!!!